SIX GOALS FOR TON IN RHONDDA DERBY ROUT

Rhondda Derby matches are normally tight affairs but on this occasion Ton Pentre ran riot at AFC Porth hammering their rivals 6-1 with six different goal scorers.

The Bulldogs could have netted many more goals in what was a very dominant performance but it was AFC Porth who were the first to come close to taking the lead in this Rhondda Derby encounter.

With just four minutes played, Chris Bullock was set free by a long ball forward and the striker’s effort drew a great save from Neil Collins, who denied the shot with a dive to his left.

Ton Pentre broke the deadlock on 17 minutes when Andre Griffiths won possession of the ball in midfield and played in Jaymie Wearn down the left wing. Wearn’s cross found strike partner Dan Richards but he was unable to get in a strong shot. As the ball broke for Shane Davies, the midfielder poked it through into Leon Young’s run. The Bulldogs captain then fired the ball past Dale Pritchard in the Porth goals.

A second goal nearly came in the 23rd minute when Pritchard spilled the ball following a shot from Davies. Just as the ball was about to be hit by a Ton Pentre player on the follow-up, Pritchard managed to push it out of the way.

Two minutes later, some lovely close ball skills saw Richards dribble into the Porth penalty area where he squared to Wearn. With just the goalkeeper to beat and looking odds on to score Ton Pentre’s second, Wearn somehow managed to blaze the ball over the crossbar from close range.

On the half-hour, Wearn sent a perfectly weighted cross into the box for Richards to shoot, but the striker’s effort was desperately saved by the outstretched legs of Pritchard.

During the 32nd minute of play, Richards was presented with another chance after running on to a through ball but on this occasion the angle was too tight and he fired into the side-netting.

A second goal finally came in the 37th minute when some magic from Davies out wide on the right saw him completely lose his marker to open up space and perfectly time his cross towards the back post. Davies had picked out Lewis Hydes with precision, who in turn finished confidently to make it 2-0.

An assured Richards dribbled the ball past several defenders in the 47th minute before turning the last man on the edge of the 6-yard box, only to be pulled back off the ball as he was about to shoot. Although a penalty was awarded the defender evaded a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Davies stepped up to take the penalty but he blazed his kick over the crossbar.

In the 53rd minute the Bulldogs were awarded a free kick 25-yards out from goal. Liam Hutchinson stood over the ball before hitting a shot on target. It appeared as though Pritchard had collected the ball but on the slippery surface the Porth goalkeeper allowed the ball to slip through his arms and into the net for 3-0.

Ton Pentre’s fourth goal came on the hour mark when Richards picked up possession on the right before demonstrating some scintillating skills to take two defenders out of the game. This manoeuvre opened up the space that allowed him the opportunity to smash the ball into the bottom righthand corner.

The Bulldogs fifth goal was the result of some similar skill from Richards but on this occasion the striker unselfishly squared the ball for Wearn to hit the back of the net in the 63rd minute.

Dean Morris then made a triple substitution with Wearn, Young and Hutchinson making way for Adam Raymond, Dafydd Brewer and Ryan Jenkins.

Richards notched up another assist in the 69th minute after cutting in from the right to supply Jenkins with the ball to score Ton Pentre’s sixth from close range.

With plenty of time left on the clock it could have got much worse for Porth when in the 77th minute a foul on Jenkins resulted a free kick 20-yards away from goal. Raymond hit a sweet free kick and with Pritchard sprawling across his goalmouth, the ball painstakingly went centimetres wide of the right post.

Five minutes later Porth were themselves awarded a free kick deep inside the Ton Pentre half of the pitch. Having launched the ball into the Bulldogs box, Collins jumped to collect it. He appeared to have the ball in his grasp when a Porth player leaped to head the ball and while Ton Pentre waited for the Referee’s whistle to signal a foul, the goal was awarded making it 6-1.

Raymond had another chance to further increase Ton Pentre’s lead in the 86th minute with a powerful boot from 25-yards, however, with Pritchard beaten the ball hit the goalpost.

This was a fantastic result for Ton Pentre who must now turn their attentions to Goytre United whom the Bulldogs visit on Saturday, 30 August 2014 at 2:30pm.

Below you can listen to post-match reaction to the 6-1 Rhondda Derby win from Assistant Manager Andrew Hughes and midfielder Shane Davies.